TD Banknorth named top banking lender under SBA program

The U.S. Small Business Administration has named TD Banknorth New York as the Albany, N.Y., area's top third-party lender in its 504 loan program.

The 504 program provides small businesses with long-term financing for the purchase, construction or renovation of fixed assets such as buildings, land and equipment. A certified development company provides 40 percent of the financing with an SBA guarantee, the borrower puts in 10 percent, and a third party lender contributes the other 50 percent.

TD Banknorth New York, the Glens Falls subsidiary of TD Banknorth Inc. of Portland, Maine, led all lenders in the 12-county Albany region with seven 504 third-party loans, valued at $3.4 million, in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The combined value of the projects was $6.1 million. The loans were made to businesses in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, and Warren counties.

In all seven cases, the certified development company was Empire State Certified Development Corp. of Albany. Empire is an arm of the New York Business Development Corp., an Albany lending consortium.

In total, lenders in the Albany area made 38 SBA 504 loans valued at $27.6 million in fiscal 2006.